Florian Sula and Flladi Malaj have been identified as the ringleaders of a ring that allegedly built a financial empire on call center scams and fake investments in Forex exchanges, then turning the dirty money into properties, businesses and companies that look clean on paper. Police sources obtained by Pamphlet show that the network has been operating for years in Tirana, Vlora and Fier, with main bases in the areas of the Commune of Paris and Selita, from where European citizens are contacted and deceived with promises of large profits from the stock exchanges.
After Sula and Malaj, the names circulating in the investigation files are F. Begollari, A. Koxhaxhiku, R. Prifti, B. Kuca and D. Daliu, persons who, according to the same police source, continue to work today in hidden offices, under the shadow of Malaj, and who are suspected of having participated in money laundering through various sectors of the economy.
Network of companies, from Century21&Partners to BelleVue Dental Care, dirty money shield
The network of companies allegedly used to launder the group’s money includes several names that have already circulated in media reports. According to the same police source, the list includes Century21&Partners, the real estate office in Delijorgji that is related to F.Begolar, as well as BelleVue Dental Care, Acme Studio, ARKA HOME and Momentum Group, companies that are suspected of lacking active balances and that serve as a shield for the network’s investments. Also, the scheme mentions the Rolex Bar on 21 December, which is related to A. Koxhaxhik, as well as a number of fictitious companies for rental cars, car washes and sales-purchases, which allegedly have the same function: to hide traces of dirty money and create a legitimate business appearance.
From waiter to villa with swimming pool in Farka, property of F. Begollari
F. Begollari is one of the names that stands out because of the wealth he allegedly built in a few years. According to information from a police source, he has worked for a long time with the group of Sula and Malaj and is suspected of laundering money through a real estate office in the Delijorgji area, which operates under the name Century21&Partners.
F. Begollari, who once worked as a waiter, today lives in a luxurious villa by the lake of Farka, with an area of over 1,000 square meters and a swimming pool, worth more than 1.5 million euros. The police source emphasizes that he has American documents and that his business in the middle of Delijorgji serves as a shield for the network’s investments, while the declared wealth does not justify the standard of living.
A. Koxhaxhiku, the empire of December 21 and the wounding for cryptocurrencies
A. Koxhaxhiku, the other name on the list of the police source, lives in the area of 21 December, where he owns the Rolex Bar and a series of investments in real estate. According to the same source, he has built a business empire that includes fictitious companies for car rentals, car washes, sales and other services, which are allegedly used to launder money obtained from call center scams.
A. Koxhaxhiku is suspected to have been injured in February or March of this year, after a conflict over non-payment with cryptocurrencies. In that event, the name of his partner, R. Prifti from Elbasan, with whom he is suspected of collaborating in joint businesses, is also mentioned.
B. Kuca and D. Daliu, offices hidden under the shadow of Malaj
B. Kuca and D. Daliu are the other two names that the police source places in the network scheme. According to him, they continue to work even today in hidden offices, under the shadow of Malaj, and are suspected of managing the network’s money and investments, taking care that their traces do not come to the surface.
The police source emphasizes that most of the investments of this group remain hidden. Only a small part of the assets is suspected to have been declared, while the rest is held in other names, in fictitious companies or in properties bought in areas such as Square21, Delijorgji and all over the country.
None of these people, according to the information, inherited wealth nor had a clear business history. Their day jobs have ranged from waiters, drug dealers and call center scams to organized crime groups, and today they are suspected of building empires that are hardly justified by legitimate income.
So far, these allegations remain at the level of information from police sources and public allegations that have not yet been proven in court. The volume of information, the names involved and the unexplained wealth of the persons in this network have increased public pressure on institutions such as the Police, Taxes and SPAK to carry out an in-depth verification on the legality of the mentioned businesses and the source of their assets. If the competent bodies did their job, we probably wouldn’t have today a network that cleans millions of euros in the middle of Tirana, while its names have been circulating for years in media reports and investigative files without being touched./ Pamphlet
